Feralium – The Hidden Cave

  Isaac opened his eyes. He wasn’t in a cell. He wasn’t in a fortress.

  He was lying in a comfortable bed, covered in thick furs. A warm fire crackled softly in a stone hearth, casting gentle dancing shadows on the wooden walls of a small cabin.

  He sat up slowly, his head spinning. Where… am I?

  The door creaked open. A man entered, carrying an armful of firewood.

  “Ah… you’re finally awake,” the man said, dumping the wood by the fire. “Good. You were a difficult man to find.”

  Isaac scrambled back against the headboard, heart slamming against his ribs.

  “Who are you? Where am I?”

  “Calm down…” the stranger raised his hands. “I am a friend. You are safe here… far from trouble.”

  Isaac squinted, the firelight illuminating the man’s face. Recognition hit him like a punch to the gut. The hat was gone, the suit replaced by leather armor, but the face was the same.

  “You…” Isaac gasped, voice cracking. “You’re that guy from the restroom… at L’Amour.”

  “Ah, yes… good,” the man smiled, pouring himself a drink. “At least you remember that.”

  Isaac looked closer. Without the hat, he could see the man’s hair was pulled back. And his ears… they were pointed.

  “You’re not human.”

  “No, my dear friend… that was a disguise. I am sorry for the deception.”

  Isaac lunged forward, grabbing the man by the collar of his tunic and slamming him against the wall.

  “Who are you?! What happened to Earth?! Where are Samantha and Elana?!”

  The elf didn’t fight back. He looked calm.

  “Easy… you need to calm down. I will tell you everything… but release me first. Okay?”

  Isaac’s hands trembled. He slowly let go, stepping back, fists still clenched tight.

  (Some time later)

  They sat by the fire. The elf handed Isaac a cup of strong herbal wine.

  “Not much is known about what actually happened to Earth,” the elf began, swirling his drink. “It was sudden. From what I know… there was a nuclear war. A super-weapon, capable of destroying planets, was created… and it ended everything.”

  Isaac stared into the flames. The words sank into him like knives.

  Kate… smiling at the beach… Joe laughing in the office… Grandma Nita teasing us… the proposal… the dinner… everything I thought was real…

  “Then why… why am I here?” His voice was barely a whisper, already breaking.

  “Do you remember nothing?” the elf asked, watching him closely.

  “No… I don’t remember anything real…” Isaac’s voice cracked completely. Tears burned in his eyes. “I just remember… I was with Kate… in my house… she disappeared. Then I saw a woman… then Dr. Connors… and then a giant spider. Then I saw a castle in an abyss…”

  The elf stood up abruptly, laughing softly, almost in disbelief. He walked to a desk and started writing furiously in a notebook.

  “What’s so funny?” Isaac snapped, tears already streaming down his face.

  “The funny thing is…” the elf chuckled, turning back, “you managed to escape Orion’s grasp. I should have imagined… this changes everything.”

  “What are you talking about? Who is Orion?”

  “Orion is the Supreme Entity of Darkness,” the elf explained, his voice turning grim. “Now I understand why I couldn’t find you. You were trapped in an illusion, Isaac.”

  The elf paced the room, his tone heavy.

  “Orion, along with the Hierophants — powerful dark mages — creates scenarios for their victims using their own memories. While the victim lives a lie, the illusion slowly sucks their life away. First the memories… then the strength… and finally, the life force itself. It is the punishment reserved for Her enemies. That is why your memories are so fragmented.”

  Isaac felt the world collapse around him. His chest tightened until breathing hurt.

  Everything he had mourned, everything that had kept him going… was just a cruel dream designed to drain him dry.

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  He stood up silently, legs shaking, and walked outside without a word.

  The air was cold. Above him, the sky of Mundus stretched out — three moons, unfamiliar constellations, and the shattered remains of destroyed planets floating in the void.

  He fell to his knees in the grass.

  He looked up at the stars, desperately searching for anything familiar. A constellation. The moon. Anything that felt like home.

  There was nothing.

  The tears came then — raw, ugly, broken sobs that tore out of his chest. He cried for the woman he loved. He cried for the friend who made him laugh who was just a ghost. He cried for the grandmother who teased him. He cried for the life he thought he had. He cried for Earth itself.

  In the silence of the night, the Lost King of Olympia wept like a man who had just lost his entire world… because he had.

  Grimoria - The Bronze Palace - Lord Vilgas’s Private Chambers

  Groans of pain filled the opulent room. Lord Vilgas was forcing himself upon an Elven servant, ignoring her tears.

  Knock. Knock.

  Vilgas stopped. His eyes, burning with cruelty, snapped toward the door. He stood up, adjusting his robes, and yanked the door open.

  “Can’t you see I’m busy, you imbecile? What do you want?”

  The soldier bowed low, trembling. “A thousand pardons, My Lord… We received a report from the First Platoon. Something very important and of your interest.”

  Vilgas narrowed his eyes. “I hope it is. Because if not… you will be executed. Wait for me in the war room. I will be there in ten minutes.”

  He slammed the door shut.

  The War Room

  Vilgas sat on his massive bronze throne. His generals stood at attention, the air thick with tension.

  “Speak,” Vilgas commanded. “What is so important?”

  “The First Platoon’s transport was completely destroyed, My Lord,” the soldier reported, voice shaking. “All soldiers… were killed.”

  “Have you discovered who—or what—did this?”

  “No, sir.”

  “No survivors?”

  “Commander Alisha, sir. She survived. She is on her way… she will arrive in two days.”

  “I want answers immediately. Understood?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Dismissed!”

  The generals and soldiers filed out quickly, eager to escape their master’s wrath. Vilgas remained on his throne, tapping his fingers on the armrest.

  Iron Transports are almost impossible to break… he thought, his face darkening. Only that bastard could destroy one… a long time ago. Strange!

  Two Days Later – The Throne Room

  The doors opened. Alisha stumbled in. She looked nothing like the proud commander. She was bandaged, wearing a patch over one eye, limping heavily. She fell to her knees.

  “My Lord… I humbly ask for forgiveness for my failure… and…”

  “Enough,” Vilgas cut her off coldly. “Just tell me what happened.”

  “Yes, My Lord… We were attacked by surprise… by a human.”

  Vilgas froze. He leaned forward slowly, his shadow looming over her.

  “What did you say? What human?”

  “We found a human male… in Valoon territory… inside a crater. He surprised us,” Alisha stammered, reliving the terror. “The human possessed a strength that threw me across the room…”

  [FLASHBACK]

  Alisha, bleeding and half-blind, dragged herself toward the exit of the transport. Through her good eye, she saw the carnage.

  General Straus stood before the human and the beast-kin woman.

  “What do you want here, you filth?” Straus sneered.

  The human, Isaac, didn’t speak. He levitated Straus by the neck. The air pressure dropped. A massive bolt of lightning, accompanied by a hurricane-force wind, struck the transport.

  BOOM.

  The metal twisted and melted. Alisha was thrown back, slammed into a wall, and electrocuted. As her consciousness faded, she saw one last thing through the smoke:

  A Strange Man walking through the fire. He picked up the unconscious Isaac with ease and carried him away.

  [END FLASHBACK]

  Alisha touched her eye patch, trembling.

  “My Lord… it was my fault. I lost good soldiers… I deserve all punishment.”

  Vilgas stood up. His face was twisted in a mix of fear and fury.

  “GET OUT! EVERYONE GET OUT NOW! THAT IS AN ORDER!”

  The guards and Alisha scrambled out of the room in terror.

  Vilgas stood alone in the silence. He turned to his personal shadow servant.

  “Contact Fall. I need to see him.”

  “When, My Lord?”

  “NOW! Tell him it is urgent.”

  The servant vanished into the shadows. Vilgas slammed his fist onto the bronze throne, denting the metal.

  “That bastard has returned…”

  Feralium – The Hidden Cave

  Sunlight filtered through the cave entrance. Isaac woke up with a start, gasping.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead… Hungry?”

  The Strange Man — the Elf from before — was sitting by a small fire, eating from a wooden bowl.

  Isaac rubbed his eyes, his stomach growling. He sat down and accepted a bowl of stew. They ate in silence for a moment.

  “How did I end up on this planet?” Isaac asked, breaking the silence.

  “I brought you,” the man said casually. “In my ship.”

  Isaac paused, spoon halfway to his mouth.

  “Why?”

  The man looked at Isaac and smiled, a genuine warmth in his eyes.

  “Is it not your custom to do that for good friends? One helping the other?”

  Isaac looked at him skeptically.

  “I think there is something beyond that you aren’t telling me… friend.”

  They locked eyes. The man sighed, putting his bowl down.

  “Earth was very well known throughout the universe, Isaac. Especially here in Mundus. To give you an idea of Earth’s importance… in all other planets, there was a travel route specifically to visit the now-extinct Earth.”

  He gestured around.

  “Something heavily requested and very lucrative. Almost the entire universe copied Earth’s laws, customs, food, religion… everything. That is why any information about it is rare and extremely sought after. And here we are… with the only native human from the most adored planet in the universe.”

  Isaac chewed slowly, processing this. It explained the similarities. It explained why Elana knew about “human food.” He was a living encyclopedia of a lost golden age.

  “Now I understand…” Isaac murmured.

  “Wait, wait…” the man waved his hands. “It is not a game of interest, Isaac. I guarantee you. I…”

  “Thank you,” Isaac interrupted softly. “For saving me.”

  The man stopped, surprised.

  “I don’t remember if I thanked you yet… but if not, I’m doing it now.”

  Isaac stood up, walking to the fire. He tossed the rest of his food into the flames — an offering to the ghosts of his past.

  “What is your name?”

  The man smiled.

  “My name… is Dev.”

  Isaac frowned, then chuckled.

  “Dev? Like… ‘Developer’?”

  “We could say that,” Dev laughed, a twinkle in his eye.

  Isaac extended his hand.

  “Okay. I will help you with the information you need about Earth. In exchange for saving me, Dev.”

  Dev grasped his hand firmly.

  “Thank you, Isaac.”

  They smiled, clinking their wooden cups in a toast to a new alliance.